Be Wild, Be Free
A NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD SILVER WINNER
Because adults need picture books too!
In Amber Fossey’s (AKA @Zeppelinmoon) beautiful first book, we are each reminded to listen, to look, to feel, and to remember what it is that makes us human.
This beautiful illustrated guide to life tells the reader how to become wild and free again, through a mash-up of poetry, fables, comic fiction and whimsical watercolour illustrations. Using the characters of sloth, bear, manatee, blob fish, and many more, we are shown that we no longer need to surrender to negative thoughts nor those who drag us down, and are prompted to ponder the beauty all around, reminding us how to simply love one another, and ourselves, again.
Do you ever hear the beasts scratching at the door? They want to be let out, to be wild & free!
They were sleeping too long, and now they’re getting feisty. Don’t be afraid, they’re pretty lovely inside, and never did i see a more lovely beast than you…
So come inside. You might be surprised, to remember how to feel alive!
With a heart to feel, a mind to learn & hands to build extraordinary things.
Go forth, fiercely, bravely.
A former NHS doctor and forensic psychiatrist, Amber’s work with severely mentally ill patients in hospitals, prisons and the community inspired her to write messages of finding hope amidst adversity in Be Wild Be Free. She encourages us to have compassion for those that society rejects, mistreats and ignores and for those suffering mental anguish. We are prompted to ponder the beauty all around, reminding us how to simply love one another, and ourselves, again.
Amber Fossey worked as a doctor in the NHS for 14 years until carving herself a new career as an artist. She specialised in forensic psychiatry, working with severely mentally ill offenders in prisons, secure hospitals and the community.
She is driven by a deep-rooted compassion for those that society rejects, mistreats and ignores and for those suffering mental anguish. She believes all souls, human and animal, deserve to be loved and treated as equals. This manifests in her art where she often champions the unloved, the feared and the endangered.
She regularly escapes to a magical world to befriend and listen to animals – and likes to take you there too.